Tag: peak award

Reasonable Adjustments And The Achievement Pathways

Recently a Scouts Australia webinar was held to support Scouts, Leaders, and Unit Councils to understand ways in which the program, and especially the Achievement Pathways, can be adjusted to support all young people to be able to be successful in their personal progression.

Scouting is an inclusive, values based Movement. Our membership is open to all young people and adults who share the fundamental values of the Scout Movement.

Scouts Australia approved a new Diversity and Inclusion Policy and Standard in Aug 2020. This reaffirms our commitment to ensuring that Scouting is truly open and accessible to all, better reflecting the composition of our communities.

A copy of the content of the webinar is now available, which in conjunction with the sections of the Program Handbook titled Access and Inclusion, will help you to support your Scouts with disabilities to be able to participate, to assist, and to lead across the whole program.

You can find the reasonable adjustments webinar content here:

Page:Achievement Pathways
Tab:Program Essentials (although it applies to all levels of the mountain)
Direct Link:Reasonable Adjustments Webinar

Scheme-To-Pathways Converter Updated to v3.6

The converter has had some updates made to it, partly based on user feedback. Main changes are:

  • Updated the names of peak awards
  • Added the option to include peak awards from past sections a Scout has been in
  • Corrected a few updates to language of the program
  • Added link to Scouts | Terrain on the front page

You can make your own conversions from the old award schemes to the new Achievement Pathways at s2p.scouts.com.au

Achievement Pathways Factsheets Updated

The downloadable factsheets supporting the four main elements of the Achievement Pathways have been updated. You can now find updated factsheets for the Program Essentials, Outdoor Adventure Skills, Special Interest Areas, as well as the factsheet outlining the five peak awards.

Updates are minor. They include:

  • branding update
  • inclusion of Scouts | Terrain
  • some tidy up of text for improved clarity
  • language update, mainly around adventurous activities guidelines
  • update to unit management course or personal development course (rather than generic leadership course) for peak award requirements

The refreshed factsheets can be found on the Achievement Pathways page, under the relevant tab.

Supporting The Peak Award – Resources Updated

We have made some updates to the documents known as “Unit Council Supporting The Peak Award”. The overall messages are the same, with some minor updates. They include:

  • Design and branding update
  • Language of the program updates
  • Clarification of how Special Interest Area projects can be completed as individuals or in patrols
  • Changes to the names of peak awards (where appropriate)
  • Updating to Personal Development Course or Unit Management Course requirements of the peak awards
  • Including Scouts | Terrain as a resource for Scouts to use

These guides are designed to help Unit Councils in each section support Scouts in their journey to the peak award.

You can find updated versions for Joey Scouts, Cub Scouts, Scouts, and Venturer Scouts. They are located on the Achievement Pathways page, under the Peak Award Resources tab. Or you can go directly to the resource page:

New Peak Award Mountain Diagrams

Now available on the Scouts Australia Program Resources website (pr.scouts.com.au) is updated versions of the Peak Award Mountain Diagrams for each section.

These diagrams are updated to match the style of the Program Handbook, to include the new peak award badge designs, to add colour, and to provide additional summary information about the requirements of each part of the Achievement Pathways needed to complete the peak award for the section.

You could print these as large format posters and place them around your Scout hall.

The new mountain diagrams can be found on the Achievement Pathways page, under the Peak Award Resources tab.

“When Old Meets New” the poster

Our youth program is re-imagining Scouting for the 21st century. But what’s changing, and what should we expect when the old meets new?

This new program is being progressively implemented across Australia. As we see, hear and discuss the changes, there’s some important differences to be aware of.

When Old Meets New compares our old ways of doing things with the approach of the new youth program.

This poster has previously been viewed at major events and on the Scouts Australia website. Now you can download it here and put it up in your hall or meeting space!

The poster is available in the Scout Group Support tab, on the Other Resources page.

It would complement nicely the Elements of the Program Poster, also found under the Scout Group Support tab.

Uniform and Badge Layout Diagram

Finally released is the new uniform diagram showing the layout of badges on youth members’ uniforms. This replaces all other versions, although there is plenty of time to transition. You can find the new diagram under the Group Support tab on the Other Resources page.

Direct download from this link.

In order to better organise badges in a logical way, to enhance the visual appeal of the uniform celebrating the individual achievements of each Scout, and to better align space on the uniform shirt for youth members of all ages, we undertook a review of the entire uniform layout and badge designs, based on the program’s symbolic framework of one program, one journey.

There was also a very strong desire from the Scouting community to enable all peak awards a Scout has achieved, to be worn on the uniform at once. This also created a need for a redesign of the overall badge design and uniform layout.

This new layout can be implemented over the following three years or so. It would make sense to allow Scouts to start using it once they have progressed to the next section, or earlier if they prefer. New members should go straight to this layout. In other words, there is no need for Scouts to change the layout that they currently have on their uniform until they move to the next section.

Along with the new layout are redesigns of the Additional Award badges, the Unit Leader badge, the Patrol Leader and Assistant Patrol Leader scarf slides (patrol member role identifiers), and the patrol identity scarf slider. New designs are now becoming available for purchase from the national Scout Shop, or from your Branch’s supplier.

You will notice that the uniform layout is organised into three themed panels:

  • Right Sleeve – My Identity – recognises where you do most of your Scouting, and the additional awards you have achieved.
  • Left Sleeve – My Journey – celebrates and recognises your growth across the Achievement Pathways, mainly Outdoor Adventure Skills, Special Interest Areas, and your peak awards.
  • Front Panels and Scarf – My Involvement – recognises your active involvement in the program, including the Program Essentials Milestones, major events, patrol identification, and your formal leadership roles.

The National Operations Committee approved the new layout and badge designs earlier this year.

Updated Peak Award Notification Forms

Some updates have been made to the peak award notification forms. These forms are used to notify your branch/state office of a Scout who has completed their peak award in any section, and would like for their achievement to be recorded and the award to be sent out.

The main changes are an update of the email addresses for each branch to which you send the form, and the updated names of the peak awards.

The notification forms can be found on the Achievement Pathways page, under the Peak Awards tab.

Some Achievement Pathways Resource Updates

Three of our Achievement Pathways resources have had a makeover and have been updated. Changes include:

  • Scouts Australia branding update
  • Removal of the “Pioneers” and “draft” labeling
  • Terminology updates
  • Minor changes based on program tweaks and icon updates
  • Strengthening of Sustainable Development Goals in the program and Achievement Pathways

The resources updated are:

Head over to the Achievement Pathways page to find these resources.